There’s More Than One Way to String a Bag

For our newest pattern hack, we *maybe had too much wine one night* and decided it would be a fun challenge to each find a new way to make a cord for our Witchy Woman bucket bags we use all the time. Thankfully our tipsy contest lead to a fantastic pattern hack, and we came up with two awesome ideas to make different cords – a sewn sash, and a knotted paracord.

For the sash, Ali bought a 1/3 yard of a fun coordinating fabric for her amazing fleather bag that we unveiled a few days ago. She experimented with a few different lengths and widths until deciding that this was the perfect look for this bag.

We think it adds a feminine, sophisticated touch and the possibilities are obviously endless. You can punch up a neutral bag with a bold colorful print, like Ali did, or you can use a solid to quietly complement a beautifully patterned bag.

Sash Tutorial

Step 1. Cut a 5” x 60” piece of fabric.

Step 2. Fold in half with wrong sides together and press. Sew 1/8” along the long edge.

Step 3. Flip sash right side out and press.

Step 4. Fold each end inside itself and press. Topstitch 1/8” from each end to close the openings.

Step 5. And you’re done! Weave the sash through the eyelets starting at the middle front and ending at the eyelet next to the one where you started and tie a bow.

For the paracord, Courtney bought a pre-packaged length that you can find at any craft store for just a few dollars. She researched and practiced various knots and landed on the “overhand sliding/scaffold” knot. It slides very easily and is simple and quick to tie.

For the visual learners, you’ll find step-by-step photos below. For those of you that prefer something a little more hands-on, we filmed another video with a quick tutorial, which you can watch on our YouTube channel here.

Paracord Tutorial

Step 1. Weave the paracord through the eyelets starting at the middle front and ending at the eyelet next to the one where you started. (Note: we decided to double up the paracord to make it stand out a bit more.) Leave the cord(s) shorter on the left-hand side.

Step 2. Hold the short end(s) in your hand, then place the long end(s) on top.

Step 3. Wrap the long end(s) around the short end(s) once, being careful not to twist the cord(s).

Step 4. Wrap the long end(s) around the short end(s) two more times, being careful not to twist the cord(s).

Step 5. Wrap the long end(s) around one more time to insert them into the wrapped cords (you may need to loosen them up a little to make room).

Step 6. Pull the long end(s) down and through the wrapped cords completely.

Step 7. And you’re done! Pull on the short end(s) to slide the knot up to the top of the bag then trim the long end(s) to the same length as the short end(s). To keep the cut ends from fraying, wrap scotch tape around the ends or singe them with a lighter.

We hope you enjoy our newest pattern hack. It’s a great way to add versatility to our Witchy Woman bucket bag. You can make sashes and paracords for every occasion!

To keep you in the loop, we’re already hard at work on our next collection. It’s a little bit different than our previously purely bag collections and we’re really excited to share a sneak peek with you soon. We also jumped on the Instagram bandwagon this week, so come follow our misadventures here. Finally, we will be having a Valentine’s Day “love yourself” sale, so be sure to check back early next week for the details!